The subject invention relates generally to laminated wooden structural assemblies of the type including T-beams, I-beams, H-beams, box beams and the like. Previously these structural members have been produced from solid lumber components, but in recent years, owing to the diminishing supply of forest resources, wide dimension structural lumber has become rather expensive and difficult to produce from small diameter "sustained yield" trees.
As evidenced by the prior U.S. Pat. Nos. to Knight, 1,377,891, Sahlberg 2,230,628, and Troutner, 3,490,188, many kinds of reconstituted lumber products and composite trusses have been developed. These include short lengths of wide dimension lumber pieces connected by finger joints, short lengths of narrow dimension lumber finger-jointed to define long lengths which are then edge gluded to form the desired widths or are assembled in pairs with a metal-reinforced web between them (Trus Joist products), and long, wide dimension lumber made from thin wood veneers arranged and glued with all grains parallel (Microlam) with optional metal reinforcements. Based on combined material and labor costs, however, many of these structural composite elements are considerably more expensive than the solid lumber members they were designed to replace even though they do offer the advantage of conserving wood resources.